


to the tips of his fingers

by lucylikestowrite



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boys In Love, Hufflepuff Scorpius Malfoy, M/M, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 06:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12524968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucylikestowrite/pseuds/lucylikestowrite
Summary: Scorpius is sorted into Hufflepuff, like he always should have been.





	to the tips of his fingers

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [boy with a scar](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3454106) by [dirgewithoutmusic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirgewithoutmusic/pseuds/dirgewithoutmusic). 



Scorpius is sorted into Hufflepuff, like he always should have been, because he is loyal, and good, and kind to the tip of his fingers.

 

This, of course, doesn't change the fact that the only person who would sit with him on the Hogwart’s Express was Albus Potter, and this doesn't change the fact that a friendship, which did not need a mountain troll to forge it, was formed in that train carriage.

 

Of course, Scorpius cannot tell Albus to stand by him, because they are in different houses, but that doesn't matter. 

 

Any other friendship may have been hurt by one of its members being sorted into Slytherin, anyone who had heard any sort of tale about the house would surely be wary of its members.

 

But Scorpius is a Malfoy, and all he knows is Slytherin. The fact that Albus is in that house is not worrying, does not mean anything for their friendship. The fact that Scorpius is not, is another matter.

 

His father, of course, is angry, but his mother is not. Sometimes, late at night, she had told him that she wondered why she had been placed in Slytherin, wondered if it had been the best place for her.

 

She had told Scorpius that sometimes, she looked at the Hufflepuffs, with their yellow ties and smiles, with envy. 

 

So Scorpius does not mind being sorted that way.

 

And Astoria makes it so that, by the time Scorpius comes home for his first Christmas, Draco does not mind either.

 

Now, of course, Albus and Scorpius no longer share a dorm, but that doesn't matter. As we said, their friendship was already forged before sorting, and it stays strong after that.

 

They are both the boys sorted into the wrong house, and they find solace in that, and in each other.

 

It does not take long before they are the best friends either of them has ever had.

 

That wasn't hard.

 

It doesn't take long for them to be inseparable. The Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms hardly ever see either of them, because they are always in the Library, or on the grounds by the lake, or anywhere they can go that isn't restricted by House affiliation.

 

First year, second year, third year pass in the same way.

 

Albus still has problems with Harry, because nothing much has changed with him. His only friend is a Hufflepuff instead of a Slytherin, but it doesn't seem like that's much better in Harry’s eyes. But then, in this world, Harry is still the same Harry, nothing can change that. 

 

So Harry and Albus still fight the night before the first day of fourth year, and when he gets on the train, he still pulls Scorpius into a hug, emotions boiling over and erupting in a need to be close to  someone.

 

The robes Scorpius is wearing are yellow, but does that matter? Neither of them is thinking about the colour of their clothes in that moment.

 

They separate. Scorpius looks at Albus, and asks if that's something they do now. Albus shrugs.

 

And then things go much as they did, even up until Amos’s visit. Except, in this world, Scorpius is slightly more eager to go along with the plan.

 

He doesn't spend much time in the Hufflepuff common room, but he has spent enough time there to see the corner hey have dedicated to Cedric, photos of him up on the wall, a photo of his family at his funeral under his smiling face, to remind them.

 

The Hufflepuffs do not see this as morbid. It is a celebration of Cedric, of all that he was, as much as it is a memorial.

 

So, Scorpius, knowing more about his dead housemate than he did originally, wanting more to meet him or to avenge him or do  something , goes along with the plan with slightly less resistance.

 

They steal the one turner the same. Scorpius still solves the riddle. A different house hasn't made him any less smart. Hufflepuffs are kind, but they are also hard-working, and Scorpius, never complacent in any universe, is even less so in this one. The riddle is solved in record time.

 

Albus still practices the spell with Delphi. Scorpius still catches them, and watches from a little way away, and something ugly twists in his stomach. It is jealousy and envy all at once, all wrapped up in a reasoning that Scorpius can’t quite grasp at, can’t quite understand yet. This feeling, watching them, is not new. Thishappens in every world.

 

They still disarm Cedric, although it's harder to do, harder for Scorpius to let himself purposefully make Cedric fail.

 

When they get back, and it seems like nothing has changed, Scorpius is devastated. And then everything  has changed. Rose is gone, and Scorpius can't believe it. He'd tried to do  good and somehow he’s erased two entire people, and it tears him apart.

 

And all he wants to do is talk to Albus, but Bane is still Bane, and the stars - they're still the stars. And Harry. He's still Harry. And Bane tells him of a dark cloud and it doesn't matter that Scorpius is a Hufflepuff instead of a Slytherin, because he still believes that Scorpius is the darkness.

 

Harry still gives McGonagall the Marauder’s Map. Albus has turned into a Gryffindor, but it's almost irrelevant in this world, because they were already in different houses.

 

So Scorpius didn't think this would be too bad, that Albus wouldn't go along with his Dad’s plan, because they've always been in different houses - so why would this separate them?

 

It does.

 

It still separates them, and Scorpius finally spends time in the Hufflepuff common room, and of course, his housemates, who he has ignored for four years, are lovely to him.

 

They figured out long ago that he was not the boy he was rumoured to be, that he truly fitted in their house, and so when he is alone, they take him in.

 

So in this world, Scorpius does not fall as low. He is still miserable, that's for sure, but he has some sort of support, and it buoys him on. 

 

He still talks to Delphi, and her words echo around his head the whole evening. He’s jealous of all the owls Albus is sending, all the words Albus sending to Delphi and not to him, even if they do ‘ache with his absence’

 

So he decides to do something about it, decides to shove down the twisting in his stomach. He takes a look at the photo of Cedric in the corner, and he goes to the library.

 

He knows Albus will be in the library, and in any world, he is. 

 

Albus is, of course, still miserable. He knows that he's not supposed to be around Scorpius, but he can't help feeling like someone has lit a candle inside his chest when his friend comes up to him.

 

Scorpius still explains everything, and they still fight, because both of them  care so much that it explodes out of them, all the words that have been pent up while they've been apart.

 

Albus still puts his foot in it, and Scorpius still screams at him like he never has before, and everything is still the same.

 

And Albus still realises what a fool he’s been, because he’s not bad, he's just young, and headstrong, and ever so slightly wrapped up in his own problems.

 

“I didn't much enjoy my life without you either,” Scorpius finally admits, because this is true in any universe. Sure, in this one he had the Hufflepuffs, but their pitying friendship (no matter how hard they tried to not make it look like that) couldn't quite compare to what he and Albus had.

 

Albus hugs him again.

 

Scorpius takes a breath, and closes his eyes.

 

It would be nice if, in this world, they stopped there.

 

But of course, they don't. Scorpius is a Hufflepuff, and it only makes him more determined to save Cedric.

 

So they visit Myrtle, and they turn time again, and when Scorpius returns to the present, Albus is gone, and Scorpius feels like screaming, but he can't, because someone is there and it's still Umbridge.

 

Albus is gone because he was never there. Harry is dead and Voldemort is alive, and Scorpius has never been more alone, or more scared. Albus is gone and it feels like every moment is a knife in his intestines, twisted until he can’t breath any more.

 

Cedric, the boy they did all of this for, is no longer an innocent boy, he’s a Death Eater and that hurts Scorpius more than he thought it could. 

 

In this world, he has never been into the Slytherin common room before, and it shows. People get suspicious of him quicker.

 

Polly Chapman does not ask him to the ball, because he is acting so strangely. If she had, he might have broken down, because there are so many thoughts swirling in his head, and he can't even begin to make sense of them.

 

He has to find Snape quicker, has to find the resistance quicker, because when he goes down to the potions classroom, it is because Umbridge has called him to her office for a ‘serious meeting’ and he's almost sure the game is up.

 

Snape is a last resort, and it shows. Scorpius is desperate, and Snape believes him.

 

Ron and Hermione still sacrifice themselves, and then, when the Dementors descend on him, and Snape tells him to think of Albus, Scorpius does.

 

It does not surprise him that his mind immediately fills with happy thoughts.

 

It does surprise him that his mind goes somewhere else, somewhere further.

 

And god, now is not the time to be thinking about it, but if he can get this right, if he can get Albus back, then… maybe then. 

 

He gets Albus back.

 

Of course he does. This isn't a cruel universe, one of the infinite ones where the plan fails and Scorpius is left alone.

 

He gets Albus back, and for the first time, Scorpius is the one to hug Albus, and as he does, he lets himself think, for the first time, what it might be like if Albus were something… more.

 

And then, this is where things change.

 

Not because Scorpius makes any sort of move, because he may be Scorpius the unanxious, but confronting any sort of feelings he may or may not have is far too much for him.

 

No, because, after he tells Albus they have to destroy time turner, he goes back to the Hufflepuff common room, and he looks at Cedric’s corner. He says sorry. He knows that they cannot save him.

 

And then he looks carefully, for the first time, at the photo from Cedric’s funeral. There is a newspaper clipping next to it. 

 

The clipping describes the attendants of the funeral.

 

Scorpius reads it, and then reads it again. 

 

“Amos Diggory Jr, only child of famed Wizarding herbologist Amos Diggory Sr, is left with no family. His wife, who died 15 years before her son, was the sole heir to her parent’s considerable fortune. The Diggory clan will end with Amos.”

 

Amos had no siblings, and neither did his wife.

 

So Delphi could not be his niece.

 

Albus and Scorpius never thought to ask the Hufflepuffs about this girl, but in this world, they don't have to.

 

In this world, Scorpius figures it out before anyone else has to.

 

In this world, he has McGonagall with him when he goes to Owlery, because he knows, just knows, that Delphi will be there.

 

And she is. Of course, she is, because she is in all universes, and she sees him, running up the stairs with McGonagall behind him. She sees him, binds Albus’s hands, and starts the time turner.

 

Scorpius doesn't think. He puts his hand on it just as time starts to flicker, and Albus has just enough to register what is happening, to see McGonagall and meet her eyes and shout out that Delphi’s taking them to the third task, and then they are gone, back in time.

 

Delphi looks at Scorpius, on the ground, and binds his wrists too. She laughs. 

 

She seems annoyed that someone is aware of her plan, and turns to Albus.

 

“You really shouldn't have said that,” she says. 

 

Albus, who is still Albus, tells her to do what she wants. 

 

Delphi, who is still Delphi, smiles. “Oh, I will. But your friend has made that so much easier. Love really can be very useful,” she continues, before turning her wand on Scorpius.

 

The pain is the same in any universe, both for Albus and for Scorpius, but in this particular one, Albus is looking at Scorpius in a way that he never has before.

 

Delphi notices. 

 

“It's been rather fun, getting in between you two. Watching you dance around each other like you’re scared to get too close and scared to get too far. All of those nasty little teenage hormones made you so easy to mess with. Still, I didn't quite manage to pull you apart enough for this not to work,” she says, pointing her wand at Scorpius again. “You’re going to do what I want you to. You’re going to fulfill the prophecy, or I kill him.”

 

Albus hesitates for a little too long, and Scorpius bends over again, his body doubled in on itself in pain. 

 

Something clicks inside Albus, and even though he knows that Scorpius would rather die than let her win, let things go back to the timeline that he witnessed, Albus knows that if she hurts his friend one more time, he wouldn’t be able to take it.

 

He stands up, putting himself in between Delphi’s wand and Scorpius, and then, in this universe, Delphi gasps, her limbs snapping together, her wand flying out of her hand, over their heads.

 

Albus turns, and their parents are there, behind them a small army.

 

He collapses in front of Scorpius, hands clutching at Scorpius’s sleeves as if touching him can make everything okay.

 

“I’m sorry,” Albus says.

 

“For what?”

 

Albus gapes at him. “You just got tortured. Twice.” He still hasn’t let go of Scorpius’s arms. This is not the universe where he does. This is the universe where he keeps holding on, as tight as he can.

 

“Haven’t you heard? I’m fearless now.”

 

Albus is pretty sure Scorpius has always been fearless.

 

The time turner the adults came on doesn’t have limits, but the grounds are crawling with students, so they head back.

 

Albus does not let go of Scorpius the whole way back. They put them both in the hospital wing.

 

There is nothing really wrong with either of them, but Ginny is…. Ginny, and could tell they didn’t want to be going back to separate dormitories.

 

No-one else is sick.

 

Albus’s pyjamas are green, and Scorpius’s are yellow.

 

They sit on Albus’s bed.

 

Scorpius was sorted into Hufflepuff, and it didn’t change much, but in some ways it changed everything.

 

“You didn’t have to come with me, when Delphi took me,” Albus says. 

 

“Yeah, I did. That's what friends do.”

 

Albus, who always dives headfirst into any sort of danger, always hesitates here. This is different. 

 

He launches himself at Scorpius, hugging him tighter than ever before, before moving back slightly, his hands not letting go of Scorpius. Their faces are too close. Their faces are not close enough. Their faces have never been closer, at least not in this world.

 

“What Delphi said…”

 

Albus trails off, eyes roaming (there isn't anywhere to look but Scorpius). He's always been good at screaming at his father, but not very good at expressing his feelings in any other way.

 

“I think I might be a bit in love with you.”

 

In any universe, Scorpius likes to be sure. 

 

“You think, or?”

 

“I'm sure.”

 

“Oh, thank god.”

 

Scorpius kisses Albus. In truth, he had not allowed himself to imagine this, not until half a second ago, because there was so much in the way. He was sure that whatever he would’ve imagined wouldn’t have been as good as the real thing.

 

Albus’s hands were still clutching onto Scorpius arms, and his fingers dug in with urgency.

 

Scorpius’s hands were around Albus’s neck. He did not want to move them.

 

Neither of them want to pull away, but Albus does.

 

“Is that something we do now?”

 

Scorpius nods, and pulls him back in. 

 

Albus’s hands loosen.

 

He is less afraid that something is going to pull them apart.

 

When Madame Pomfrey comes in in the morning, they are on top of the covers, squished together in the centre of a bed that is definitely not big enough for the both of them.

 

They go back to different common rooms, but that doesn’t matter, because they’re both in the basement, and there’s more than enough private hiding spots in the belly of Hogwarts.

 

And as it turns out, and as they find out the next year, after the Battle of Hogwarts, and now the fight with Delphi that almost heralded in a new dark age of wizardry, the barriers to common rooms have become much more amenable to letting those of the wrong house slip by occasionally.

 

They both have nightmares. Scorpius wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes, sure that he is back in a world without Albus. It helps to turn over and see him there, green pyjamas under a yellow cover.

 

Albus sees Scorpius being tortured, over and over again. He sees Delphi, her wand pointed at him, and he see Scorpius’s face, so tense he can’t even scream. Scorpius always looks peaceful when he sleeps, and that helps.

 

Scorpius is a Hufflepuff. And it didn’t change much, but in this world, they have a home in not one, but two houses, because Slytherins and Hufflepuffs are really two sides of the same coin, and the Hufflepuffs who learnt to love Scorpius also learn to love Albus, the boy who makes Scorpius smile like no other.

 

Scorpius is a Hufflepuff, and it didn’t change the fact that Albus fell in love with him. 

**Author's Note:**

> This work is but a poor imitation of the series that the work I linked is the first in. I got the inspiration for this while watching Cursed Child for the third time, and it was by third time seeing these boys SO MUCH IN LOVE and canon not letting them and I had to do something to fix that so this is what it is. Wanted something vaguely original but obviously this is not THAT original because the hufflepuff scorpius tag is a canon one. Ah well.


End file.
